The Local Lit Scene

So, I read them, yes, the entire series and these are my thoughts:

The whole series reminded me of a Mills and Boon romance novel. Full of steamy s*x, a tall, dark and handsome man and a young woman who has met her ‘soul mate’. I have a couple of theories as to why many women loved it and why it has been likened to ‘mommy porn’.

Theory One

There is alot of s*x, and I think most women either don’t have enough or want more amorous adventures with their significant other. I think it explores fantasies that some women may loath to admit that they even think about. I also think that that particular brand of s*x has been taken ‘out of the closet’ for many women who may know that it does exist, but details it in more depth and almost makes it lose its ‘stigma’.

Theory two

I was discussing this particular thought with my partner, and he managed to put it better than I did, but I will try to get it across neatly… Many people are control freaks (men and women) and in their work lives have to be incredibly controlling in order to function in their high powered positions. This is one aspect that they do not need to control, having a dominant command them to do particular things. It is their way of ‘letting go’ of their control for a while.  This aspect would also appeal to women, especially mothers, because on a daily basis they need to be in control of their work, home and children and the fantasy of having someone take over-even if only in the sexual department, allows them to ‘let go’.

Of course, I could be completely wrong but this is just my opinion from reading the books.

The pros of the series for me was:

Even though Ana liked adventuring into Grey’s world, she was still a strong enough character to stay ‘herself’ when she could so easily have  become a sub and become completely enamoured with the whole lifestyle. I like how she sticks to her guns for some things and yet allows herself to experiment in things that clearly she has become to enjoy.

One of my favourites throughout the series was Ana’s ‘Inner Goddes’ I thought that was probably the funniest and most apt descriptions the entire series had.

I quite enjoyed the actual story line, when it was being told in between all the s*x.

The Cons far outweigh the pros😉

There was faaar to much s*x, but I understand why.

Ana is pretty annoying in her constant ‘oh my’s’ and how Grey’s eyes burn and whadawhadawhada, *yawn*

The ending of the series was too happy- call me cynical, but I really doubt that in real life it would of ended that way- again, Mills and Boon.

The writing really is terrible, and I have to admit to skim reading through at least the second half of the first book and the first half of the third book. Book two was the best of the lot, which is saying a lot considering they were all pretty dreadful.

So, why did I read them? I think its similar to the Twilight series, you just have to! Would I recommend anyone to read them? No, I wouldn’t!

I know what some of you thought of it, but what about the rest of you? Do you agree with any thing I have said?

(and for a particularly hilarious review of the first book go here but beware of Strong language!- Don’t say I didn’t warn you…)

I was searching Bargain Books for a book for me to read and a present for a friend as it was her birthday this last Friday. They had a ‘buy two for R99’ and my purchase was The Elephant in the Room and Jasmyn by Alex Bell (which was for the gift).

Maya Fowler was born in Cape Town and grew up in Stellenbosch.  Her novel The Elephant in the Room (2009) was shortlisted for the Herman Charles Bosman Prize.

From Wikipedia:

“Elephant in the room” is an English metaphorical idiom  for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.

and that is exactly what this book does. I found it rather horrifying that a parent can so very blatantly ignore her daughter’s eating issues. Lily Fields is the main character in this novel and starts as a young girl and her passage growing up into a young adult. Her mother is apathetic and the grandmother is domineering, not the most wonderful combination for ones role models. Lily decides that she needs to lose weight because she feels her legs are too squat and her hips are too wide. The nasty comments from the girls at school do not help to  give her confidence and so she stops eating. Well as much as she can possibly stop eating, but then discovers that if she does eat, she can just purge it after stuffing herself. This is Lily’s story of addiction, of the circles and lies the mind consistently weaves.

It is also the story of how, if as a parent you are not present, you can ignore the obvious truth of what  is happening right in front of you.

For me, this was a poignant, sad but beautifully written novel of a young girls eating disorder, set in Kalk Bay, Plumstead and The Karoo Farm, it encapsulates thoughts of a girl growing up.

It made me vow to always be present in my daughter’s life, to notice and to never ignore anything.

or over the last week and a half to be precise.

The Old Kingdom series or otherwise known as the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.

Garth Nix is an Australian author and this is a fantasy series for young adults. Considering that I have been delving into the fantasy genre of late, this fit in perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed all three books and to be honest, I couldn’t put them down and I remember one day last week I was desperate to carry on reading to find out what happened next but did not have the chance until bedtime! Believe me, it was a long day!

So, what are they about?

A magical fantastic world where the main character is a necromancer. But one who returns the living dead to death and not vice versa. The magical instruments used for such are bells, who all have names and as you read further into the story, you find out what those names mean. The world of Garth Nix is completely believable for a fantasty series and the descriptions between life and death are awesome!

The characters are hard core but likeable, I only had a little trouble with the last books main character who was just a little to self pitying for my liking, but by the end of the book she had changed dramatically, in a good way and I was quite sad to say goodbye to the characters. They definitely left an imprint in the reading space of my mind, my favourite must be the Disreputable Dog, who is one of the main character in the third instalment of the series. A dog, who is not a dog, but is a dog. Full of magic and dog like devotion.

All three books had me hooked, as you read, they only took me a week and  a half to read and the last one, because it was a Sunday, only a day and morning;-) I had to find out how it ended!

Thoroughly enjoyable, in fact, I think this may be my niece’s next Christmas present!

Have you read it, or anything else by Garth Nix? Is his other writing as good as this series?